Ho Chi Minh City Visit 23 - 25 Oct 2019

Famous Words of Ho Chi Minh in 1946 against the oppressive colonisation of first the French and next the Americans 

This is my 4th visit to the southern capital, previously called Saigon. The country of Vietnam since 1975, has been under Communist rule but the last 15 years or so, it has opened up its economy to the capitalists and the economy has been on an uptick since then. 

The young population are hungry, hard working, clever and bi-lingual - this is a big plus, as compared currently to the PRC. Hence there have been many investors coming in and setting up factories, businesses. Tourism is booming, with many visitors from US, Europe, Russia and Asia (China especially) coming for an inexpensive short weekend getaway. 

The greatest pride of the Vietnam people must be their steely determination to drive out the imperialist US forces in the very divisive Vietnam War which lasted from 1956 - 1975. More than 2 million Vietnamese died in the conflict, and US, even with their superior weaponry, firepower, technology, strategy could not overcome one fundamental aspect of the war - the will of the people to be free from imperialism and subjugation from the rule of the white man. 

      The one shameful symbol of the Vietnam War, the UH 1 H Huey Helicopter Gunship

The Vietcong soldiers were very clever in using captured weapons, ammunition and even learnt how to evade the US carpet bombings by digging a network of tunnels running some several kilometers underground and practically unseeen unless one was on top of its entrance. There was even the capture of F5E warplanes by the Vietcong and one brave pilot flew into Saigon (the capital of South Vietnam) and dropped several bombs into the Independence Palace in 1975. This signalled that the end of the war was near and the US presence was waning with each passing year from 1970 onwards.

Last Chopper out of Saigon May 1975 

There were millions of people protesting against the war in US, the returning Veterans were amongst the loudest opponents to the war, and the brave Vietnamese were just doing what came naturally, rising against the yoke of the oppressors. 

The US hence lost the war on 2 fronts - firstly in the minds of the general population who saw no positive upside to it, resulting in over 50,000 young men and women dying for a distant war with no identifiable cause except for the maintenance of balance of power between them (the Communists) and the Free World. 

T -59 Chinese Made Tank which stormed through the gates of Independence Palace on 30 April 1975 signalling America's defeat.  

Secondly, it was very expensive to the taxpayers, the US citizens and with each passing year, people were being made aware (by enbedded camera crews in the jungles of Vietnam alongside the soldiers) of the atrocities being committed by the US forces. There were reports of outright rape, murder, genocide and carpet bombing using Agent Orange which by all accounts was chemical warfare. Many innocent Vietnamese were scarred for life and lost their limbs and their dignity as a result of the terrible side effects of the chemicals. 

The moral outrage about the social injustice on the ordinary Vietnam people was finally enough to make the US powers that be, see that it was a lost cause. 

They pulled out in May 1975, and the US imperial power myth was shattered irrevocably.       

AI is already in our Car Computer System

The E230 2014 Version 

The convergence of Artificial Intelligence together with Biometrics will mean that our movements will be tracked by our handphones, our credit cards, our notebooks, and our vehicles. Facial Recognition software and the cashless society is now being employed in numerous cities all over People's Republic of China. 

Welcome to the brave new world in 2020.

The feature of Park Assist in the Mercedes Benz E Class is already in use, whereby the driver needs only to drive close to the parking lot, and the proximity sensors will detect the area available, do a quick algorithmic calculation and then take control of the driving so that the car is parked perfectly in the lot in either a reverse or parallel parking orientation.

There is also another Predictive Driving software which in my car's 2014 system can gauge the distance from the nearby car, and warn the driver that at the speed he is going, there is a greater chance of a collision or fender bender and hence an audio and visual will pop up to the driver's field of view.

Now in 2019 , 5 years on, there is surely the predictive software coupled with proximity sensors and with an algorithm that if I am travelling too fast and too close to the driver in front of me, the Cruise Control will take over the steering and the braking system so as not to collide with the vehicle in front. 

With the development of 5G, all new cars will be on the same network and can communicate with each other, and extrapolating this a bit further, the car and the entire traffic system can be 'in sync' so as to provide the most efficient a) route to the destination and b) route with least number of traffic disruptions in terms of traffic lights, vehicles doing road works and minor / major accidents.

Yuval Noah Harari pointed out so elegantly in his book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century that nowadays more people are being killed by traffic accidents worldwide than there are being killed by war and terrorism.

Surely the implementation of 5G is for the 'greater good' of saving lives ?   

The personal privacy issue will always be looming in the big picture of Government running our lives but there must be a system of checks and balances so that the legitimate and altruistic use of AI together with biometrics will be in the hands of the 'responsible' and benovalent people with compassion.

Else it will be chaos. 

Technology is neutral. It is the powers that be that owe a debt of responsibility to the proper dispensing and utilisation of the technology be it cloud storage, data analytics and cybersecurity to harness for the 'greater good' of uplifting people's standard of living in the coming years.

At the Top of St Peter's Basilica in Rome December 2017 - An Awesome Sight to Behold !

We were in Rome, and managed to perform the 2 most (in my opinion) unforgettable things to do. The first was to go for a private tour to visit the crypts or burial grounds of the all the holy priests and popes - we were one of the privileged ones, I would say, to be asked to visit the crypt. Do note that Rome was built over the previous city over the last 2 millenia so there was a lot of old structures built one above the other.

The second activity was to go right to the top of the massive church which entailed first buying tickets to go to the 5th floor, and then walking another claustrophobic 125 or so steps upwards to the very top of the Basilica.

When we reached the top, my oh my ! The view was simply astounding ! We could see the entire avenues leading to the church (All roads lead to Rome remember ? ), the 12 disciples and the 4 apostles, the Saints and we were even higher than the level where the Pope gives his Mass.

This experience is one which I will NEVER forget !!!! 

Carpe Diem 

2018 Birthday in S Korea - What's it like having a birthday away from family and close friends ?

Having the street food outside Siyeong City at - 3 deg C. 

Last year, I had the dubious honor of celebrating my birthday in Siyeong City Korea. I was on a business trip and my colleague and I went together with our customer to do  due diligence buy-off of the equipment at the factory just South East of Incheon city.

ETSP Korean Made Chamber 

Nov 27th 2018 

Our business partner, Paul Lee is the owner of the company ETSP and we went there on the company paid buy-off trip lasting 4 days and 3 nights. It was cold, and very fortunately, everything went according to plan. The customer was pretty happy with the equipment, and we had a faultless performance of the equipment.

26th Nov Korean BBQ 

When we arrived, we were a little bleary eyed from the red-eye flight (Asiana) but after several hours rest, we started work with much gusto at Paul's factory. He runs a lean operation and he is a brilliant engineer with much knowhow in chamber and refrigeration technology. Hence ETSP is his 'baby' since 2008 I believe.  

Skewered Meats Korean Style 

Some memorable highlights of the trip were, we went to the artificial island off Siyeong and walked a glass bottomed floor of the observation tower overlooking part of the Korean peninsula. Quite an experience.The Korean barbecue dishes were really good and our host made sure we all went home satisfied not only by the equipment performance, but also by the extra time spent building up good relations. 

Memorable Birthday Pix by the Conifer Tree 

Tuesday 27th Nov 2018 

On the Tuesday 27th, I celebrated my birthday incognito. All my school friends were wishing me a Happy 56th on Whatsapp, Facebook, Phone and FB Messanger and I was somewhere in Korea doing work. Did it feel strange ? Well normally as each year passes I like to cocoon myself from all the rest of the world and just reflect. Time is really moving fast, so I had better reach my goals while I still have the energy and health to do so.  

I am thankful, really. for a wonderful wife, 2 good sons, a support system of friends, relatives and a small business that I can truly be accountable for. I believe my company can and does contribute to the betterment of the athletes in not only Singapore, but now Australia and Qatar, so our name is growing albeit at a decent pace. 

Rudy on the Glass Bottomed Bridge

        Just another day in the office. My family and I had celebrated my birthday a few days before during the weekend, so it was for me,  'business as usual'. 

Mr Karl Heinz Hehl ; it was a privilege to have known you

Meetings were tough as nails, but the bond of friendship was real 

From Left (seated) : Karl Heinz Hehl, Mrs Angelika Bausch(Head of Sales); Fred Schweitzer (Reg Sales Manager)
(behind) : N. Kannan (QRA Malaysia Manager), yours truly, Rene (Zellweger!) (Asia Pac), Dieter Haus (Sales Director)

I heard the sad news that the former Managing Director of Weiss Umwelttechnik Mr. Karl Heinz Hehl had passed away on 17th October Thursday. He was 75 (I believe). 

My good friend and mentor Frank Rigley sent the sad news by email yesterday and I am posting this picture of us after having a tough meeting at the Weiss Headquarters in Giessen Germany, I believe in 2009.

Mr. Hehl retired in 2010 and his position was then passed on to Mr. Niedermeyer ;

My company had their services terminated by the Weiss group in 2012.

I am forever grateful and privileged to have known Karl Heinz as both a strict boss and also as a friend who was a warm hearted man and loved a schnapps or two (or more).... 

He visited Singapore with his family on several occasions the last being in 2004 / 05 for the New Year's day celebrations. I will never forget that occasion, as he treated all the local agents' families to a nice dinner at the Esplanade and watched the countdown together.. Ahh the sweet memories.

When will we meet again ? ...wherever whenever.... old friend.....  

Carpe Diem. 

Why is the Community Center having an Octoberfest party ?

I am increasingly baffled by the attempts by the Community Center to 'reach out' to the general public at our Tanglin Community Center. It is true that we have an interntional population in Singapore, particularly in Tanglin or especially estates near the City Center, but I have noticed that the 'want' to celebrate the festive occasions like Thanksgiving, Halloween, Octoberfest which once were totally alien to our culture is somewhat baffling.

Community events are normally subsidised by the People's Association and annual dinners with the objective of giving out awards to deserving sports and interest group leaders I fully support. Octoberfest ?  What next ? Japanese emperor birthday ? Martin Luther King day ?  

We are a South East ASIAN country (yes) with increasing international connections and premanent residents but to ape and follow alien activities in the name of community bonding ?  I am all for the private clubs, restaurants, sports bars and the like to do the 'oom pah pah' and ape the Germans to eat pork knuckle and drink Bavarian beer, but the local community centre should first and formost promote the harmony of its residents like the common exercise and interest groups - my karate club, the rumba dance and band sessions are 3 of the clubs which are affected by this Sunday's event.   

What is Octoberfest ? 

Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest, annual festival in Munich, Germany, held over a two-week period and ending on the first Sunday in October. The festival originated on October 12, 1810, in celebration of the marriage of the crown prince of Bavaria, who later became King Louis I, to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.

So what gives ?? 

Eliud Kipchoge smashes 2 hour mark in the 42.194 km Marathon ! Sensational !

As a full marathoner (10 and counting), I am so pleased and proud that the elite Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge has broken the 2 hour mark for the once thought inpossible pacing and speed standard in the marathon.

So pleased that a human being with the talent and the hard work that all his and his coaches efforts have paid off and so proud that I am one of the marathon community blessed to see history in making.

Mind over matter ! Yes. I am inspired to train to run another 10 more marathons before I finally give it (the goals) a rest !